Columbus, knowing Hojeda's courage and his restless spirit only too

well, feared that he would introduce a new element of discord into

the colony. He therefore despatched Francesco Roldan with two

caravels to inquire into his motives in coming to the island, and if

necessary to prevent his landing. The admiral's fears were but too

well grounded; Hojeda had scarcely landed before he had an interview

with some of the malcontents, inciting them to a rising at Xaragua,

and to a determination to expel Columbus. After some skirmishes,

which had not ended to Hojeda's advantage, a meeting was arranged

for him with Roldan, Diego d'Escobar, and Juan de la Cosa, when they

prevailed upon him to leave the island. "He took with him," says Las

Casas, "a prodigious cargo of slaves, whom he sold in the market at

Cadiz for enormous sums of money." He returned to Spain in February,

1500, where he had been preceded by Americus Vespucius and B. Roldan

on the 18th of October, 1499.

The most southerly point that Hojeda had reached in this voyage was

4 degrees north latitude, and he had only spent fourteen weeks on

the voyage of discovery, properly so called. If we appear to have

dwelt at some length upon this voyage, it is because it was the

first one made by Vespucius. Some authors, Varnhagen for instance,

and quite recently, Mr. H. Major, in his history of Prince Henry the

Navigator, assert that Vespucius' first voyage was in 1497, and

consequently that he must have seen the American continent before

Columbus, but we prefer to follow Humboldt, who spent so many years

in studying the history of the discovery of America, in his opinion

that 1499 was the right date, also M. Ed. Charton and M. Jules

Codine, the latter of whom discussed this question in the Report of

the Geographical Society for 1873, _apropos_ of Mr. Major's book.

"If it were true," says Voltaire, "that Vespucius had discovered the

American Continent, yet the glory would not be his; it belongs

undoubtedly to the man who had the genius and courage to undertake

the first voyage, to Columbus." As Newton says in his argument with

Leibnitz, "the glory is due only to the inventor." But we agree with

M. Codine when he says, "How can we allow that there was an

expedition in 1497 which resulted in the discovery of above 2500

miles of the coast-line of the mainland, when there is no trace of

it left either among the great historians of that time, or in the

legal depositions in connexion with the claims made by the heir of

Columbus against the Spanish Government, in which the priority of

the discoveries of each leader of an expedition is carefully

mentioned, with the part of the coast explored by each?" Finally,

the authentic documents extracted from the archives of the _Casa de

contratacion_ make it evident that Vespucius was entrusted with the

preparation of the vessels destined for the third voyage of Columbus

at Seville and at San Lucar from the middle of August, 1497, till

the departure of Columbus on the 30th of May, 1498. The narratives

of the voyages of Vespucius are very diffuse and wanting in

precision and order; the information they give upon the places he

visited is so vague, that it might apply to one part of the coast as

well as to another; as to the localities treated of, as well as of

the companions of Vespucius, there are no indications given of a

nature to aid the historian. Not a single name is given of any

well-known person, and the dates are contradictory in those famous

letters which have given endless work to commentators. Humboldt says

of them "There is an element of discord in the most authentic

documents relating to the Florentine navigator." We have given an

account of Hojeda's first voyage, which coincides with that of

Vespucius according to Humboldt, who has compared the principal

incidents of the two narratives. Varnhagen asserts that Vespucius,

having started on the 10th of May, 1497, entered the Gulf of

Honduras on the 10th of June, coasted by Yucatan and Mexico, sailed

up the Mississippi, and at the end of February, 1498, doubled the

Cape of Florida. After anchoring for thirty-seven days at the mouth

of the St. Lawrence, he returned to Cadiz in October, 1498.

If Vespucius had really made this marvellous voyage, he would have

far outstripped all the navigators of his time, and would have fully

deserved that his name should be given to the newly-discovered

continent, whose coast-line he had explored for so great a distance.

But nothing is less certain, and Humboldt's opinion has hitherto

appeared to the best writers to offer the largest amount of

probability.

Americus Vespucius made three other voyages. Humboldt identifies the

first with that of Vincent Yanez Pinzon, and M. d'Avezac with that

of Diego de Lepe (1499-1500). At the close of this latter year,

Giuliano Bartholomeo di Giocondo induced Vespucius to enter the

service of Emmanuel, King of Portugal, and he accomplished two more

voyages at the expense of his new master. On the first of these two

voyages, he was no higher in command than he had been in his earlier

ones, and only accompanied the expedition as one whose intimate

acquaintance with all nautical matters might prove of service under

certain circumstances. During this voyage the ships coasted along

the American shores from Cape St. Augustine to 52 degrees of south

latitude. The fourth voyage of Vespucius was marked by the wreck of

the flag-ship off the Island of Fernando de Noronha, which prevented

the other vessels from continuing their voyage towards Malacca by

way of the Cape of Good Hope, and obliged the crews to land at All

Saints' Bay, in Brazil.

This fourth voyage was unquestionably made with Gonzalo Coelho, but

we are quite ignorant as to who was in command on the third voyage.

These various expeditions had not tended to enrich Vespucius, while

his position at the Portuguese court was so far from satisfactory

that he determined to re-enter the service of the King of Spain. By

him he was made _Piloto Mayor_ on the 22nd of March, 1508. There

were some valuable emoluments attached for his advantage to this

appointment, which enabled him to end his days, if not as a rich man,

at least as one far removed from want. He died at Seville on the

22nd of February, 1512, with the same conviction as Columbus, that

he had reached the shores of Asia. Americus Vespucius is especially

famous from the New World having been named after him, instead of

being called Columbia, as in all justice it should have been, but

with this Vespucius had nothing to do. He was for a long time

charged, though most unjustly, with impudence, falsehood, and deceit,

it being alleged that he wished to veil the glory of Columbus and to

arrogate to himself the honour of a discovery which did not belong

to him. This was an utterly unfounded accusation, for Vespucius was

both loved and esteemed by Columbus and his contemporaries, and

there is nothing in his writings to justify this calumnious

assertion. Seven printed documents exist which are attributed to

Vespucius; they are--the abridged accounts of his four voyages, two

narratives of his third and fourth voyages, in the form of letters,

addressed to Lorenzo de Pier Francesco de Medici, and a letter

addressed to the same nobleman, relative to the Portuguese

discoveries in the Indies. These documents, printed and bound up as

small thin volumes, were soon translated into various languages and

distributed throughout Europe.

It was in the year 1507 that a certain Hylacolymus, whose real name

was Martin Waldtzemuller, first proposed to give the name of America

to the new part of the world. He did so in a book printed at Saint

Die and called _Cosmographia introductio_. In 1509 a small

geographical treatise appeared at Strasburg adopting the proposal of

Hylacolymus; and in 1520 an edition of Pomponius Mela was printed at

Basle, giving a map of the New World with the name of America. From

this time the number of works employing the denomination proposed by

Waldtzemuller increased perpetually.

Some years later, when Waldtzemuller was better informed as to the

real discoverer of America and of the value to be placed upon the

voyages of Vespucius, he eliminated from his book all that related

to the latter, and substituted everywhere the name of Columbus for

that of Vespucius, but it was too late, the same error has prevailed

ever since.

As to Vespucius himself, it seems very unlikely that he was at all

aware of the excitement which prevailed in Europe, nor of what was

passing at St. Die. The testimony that has been unanimously borne to

his honourable and upright conduct should surely clear him from the

unmerited accusations which have for too long a time clouded his

memory.

Three other expeditions left Spain almost at the same time as that

of Hojeda. The first of these, consisting of but one vessel, sailed

from Barra Saltez in June 1499. Pier Alonzo Nino, who had served

under Columbus in his two last voyages, was its commander, and he

was accompanied by Christoval Guerra, a merchant of Seville, who

probably defrayed the expenses of the expedition. This voyage to the

coast of Paria seems to have been dictated more by the hope of

lucrative commerce than by the interests of science. No new

discoveries were made, but the two voyagers returned to Spain in

April, 1500, bringing with them so large a quantity of valuable

pearls as to excite the cupidity of their countrymen, who became

anxious to try their own fortunes in the same direction.

The second expedition was commanded by Vincent Yanez Pinzon, the

younger brother of Alonzo Pinzon who had been captain of the _Pinta_

and had shown so much jealousy of Columbus, even adopting the

following mendacious device:--

_A Castilla, y a Leon

Nuevo Mundo dio Pinzon_.

Yanez Pinzon, whose devotion to the admiral equalled his brother's

jealousy, had advanced an eighth part of the funds required for the

expedition of 1492, and had on that occasion been in command of the

_Nina_.

He set out in December, 1499, with four vessels, of which only two

returned to Palos at the end of September, 1500. He touched the

coast of the newly discovered continent at a point near the shore

visited by Hojeda some months before, and explored the coast for

some 2400 miles, discovering Cape St. Augustine at 8 degrees 20

minutes south latitude, following the coast-line in a north-westerly

direction to _Rio Grande_, which he named _Santa-Maria de la Mar

dulce_, and continuing in the same direction as far as Cape St.

Vincent. Diego de Lepe explored the same coasts with two caravels

from January to June, 1500; there is nothing particular to record of

this voyage beyond the very important observation that was made on

the direction of the coast-line of the continent starting from Cape

St. Augustine. Lepe had but just returned to Spain when two vessels

left Cadiz, equipped by Rodrigo M. Bastidas, a wealthy and highly

respectable man, with the view of making some fresh discoveries, but

above all with the object of collecting as large a quantity of gold

and pearls as possible, for which were to be bartered glass beads

and other worthless trifles. Juan de la Cosa, whose talents as a

navigator were proverbial, and who knew these coasts well from

having explored them, was really at the head of this expedition. The

sailors went on shore and saw the Rio Sinu, the Gulf of Urabia, and

reached the _Puerto del Retrete_ or _de los Escribanos_, in the

Isthmus of Panama. This harbour was not visited by Columbus till the

26th of November, 1502; it is situated about seventeen miles from

the once celebrated, but now destroyed town of _Nombre de Dios_. In

fact this expedition, which had been organized by a merchant, became,

thanks to Juan de la Cosa, one of the voyages the most fertile in

discoveries; but alas! it came to a sad termination; the vessels

were lost in the Gulf of Xaragua, and Bastidas and La Cosa were

obliged to make their way by land to St. Domingo. When they arrived

there, Bovadilla, the upright man and model governor, whose infamous

conduct to Columbus we have already mentioned, had them arrested, on

the plea that they had bought some gold from the Indians of Xaragua;

he sent them off to Spain, which was only reached after a fearfully

stormy voyage, some of the vessels being lost on the way.

After this expedition, so fruitful in results, voyages of discovery

became rather less frequent for some years; the Spaniards being

occupied in asserting their supremacy in the countries in which they

had already founded colonies.

[Illustration: Indians devoured by Dogs. _From an old print_.]

The colonization of Hispaniola had commenced in 1493, when the town

of Isabella was built. Two years afterwards Christopher Columbus had

travelled over the island and had subjugated the poor savages, by

means of those terrible dogs which had been trained to hunt Indians,

and unaccustomed as the natives were to any hard work, he had forced

them to toil in the mines. Both Bovadilla and Ovando treating the

Indians as a herd of cattle, had divided them among the colonists as

slaves. The cruelty with which this unfortunate people was treated

became more and more unbearable. By means of a despicable ambush,

Ovando seized the Queen of Xaragua and 300 of her principal subjects,

and at a given signal they were all put to the sword without there

being any crime adduced against them. "For some years," says

Robertson, "the gold brought into the royal treasury of Spain

amounted to about 460,000 _pesos_ (2,400,000 livres of the currency

of Tours) an enormous sum if we take into consideration the great

increase in the value of money since the beginning of the sixteenth

century." In 1511 Diego Velasquez conquered Cuba with 300 men, and

here again were enacted the terrible scenes of bloodshed and pillage

which have rendered the Spanish name so sadly notorious. They cut

off the thumbs of the natives, put out their eyes, and poured

boiling oil or melted lead into their wounds, even when they did not

torture them by burning them over a slow fire to extract from them

the secret of the treasures of which they were believed to be the

possessors. It was only natural under these circumstances that the

population rapidly decreased, and the day was not far off when it

would be wholly exterminated. To understand fully the sufferings of

this race thus odiously persecuted, the touching and horrible

narrative of Las Casas must be read, himself the indefatigable

defender of the Indians.

[Illustration: Indians burnt alive. _From an old print_.]

In Cuba, the Cacique Hattuey was made prisoner and condemned to be

burnt. When he was tied to the stake, a Franciscan monk tried to

convert him, promising him that if he would only embrace the

Christian faith, he would be at once admitted to all the joys of

Paradise. "Are there any Spaniards in that land of happiness and joy

of which you speak?" asked Hattuey. "Yes," replied the monk, "but

only those who have been just and good in their lives." "The very

best among them can have neither justice nor mercy!" said the poor

cacique, "I do not wish to go to any place where I should meet a

single man of that accursed race."

Does not this fact suffice to paint the degree of exasperation to

which these unfortunate people had been driven? And these horrors

were repeated wherever the Spaniards set foot! We will throw a veil

over these atrocities practised by men who thought themselves

civilized, and who pretended that they wished to convert to

Christianity, the religion pre-eminently of love and mercy, a race

who were in reality less savage than themselves.

In 1504 and 1505 four vessels explored the Gulf of Urabia. This was

the first voyage in which Juan de la Cosa had the supreme command.

This seems, too, to have been about the date of Hojeda's third

voyage, when he went to the territory of Coquibacoa, a voyage that

certainly was made, as Humboldt says, but of which we have no clear

account.

In 1509 Juan Diaz de Solis, in concert with Vincent Yanez Pinzon,

discovered a vast province, since known by the name of Yucatan.

"Though this expedition was not a very remarkable one in itself,"

says Robertson, "it deserves to be noticed as it led to discoveries

of the utmost importance." For the same reason we must mention the

voyage of Diego d'Ocampo, who being charged to sail round Cuba, was

the first to ascertain the fact that it was a large island, Columbus

having always regarded it as part of the continent. Two years later

Juan Diaz de Solis and Vincent Pinzon sailing southwards towards the

equinoctial line, advanced as far as the 40 degrees of south

latitude, and found, to their surprise, that the continent extended

on their right hand even to this immense distance. They landed

several times, and took formal possession of the country, but could

not found any colonies there, on account of the small resources they

had at their command. The principal result of this voyage was the

more exact knowledge which it gave of the extent of this part of the

globe.

Alonzo de Hojeda, whose adventures we have narrated above, was the

first to think of founding a colony on the mainland; although he had

no means of his own, his courage and enterprising spirit soon gained

him associates, who furnished him with the funds needed for carrying

out his plans.

With the same object Diego de Nicuessa, a rich colonist of

Hispaniola, organized an expedition in 1509.

King Ferdinand, who was always lavish of encouragements which cost

little, gave both Hojeda and Nicuessa honourable titles and patents

of nobility, but not a single maravedis (a Spanish coin). He also

divided the newly-discovered continent into two governments, of

which one was to extend from Cape _La Vela_ to the Gulf of Darien,

and the other from the Gulf of Darien to Cape _Gracias a Dios_. The

first was given to Hojeda, the second to Nicuessa. These two

"conquistadores" had to deal with a population far less easy to

manage than that of the Antilles. Determined to resist to the utmost

the invasion of their country, they adopted means of resistance

hitherto unknown to the Spaniards. Thus the strife became deadly. In

a single engagement seventy of Hojeda's companions fell under the

arrows of the savages, fearful weapons steeped in "curare," so fatal

a poison that the slightest wound was followed by death. Nicuessa on

his side, had much difficulty in defending himself, and in spite of

two considerable reinforcements from Cuba, the greater number of his

followers perished during the year from wounds, fatigue, privations,

or sickness. The survivors founded the small colony of Santa-Maria

el Antigua upon the Gulf of Darien, and placed it under the command

of Balboa.

Before we speak of Balboa's wonderful expedition, we must notice the

discovery of a country that forms the most northerly side of that

arc, cut so deeply into the continent, and which bears the name of

the Gulf of Mexico. In 1502 Juan Ponce de Leon, a member of one of

the oldest families in Spain, had arrived in Hispaniola with Ovando.

He had assisted in its subjugation, and in 1508 had conquered the

island of San Juan de Porto Rico. Having learnt from the Indians

that there existed a fountain in the island of Bimini which

possessed the miraculous power of restoring youth to all who drank

of its waters, Ponce de Leon resolved to go in search of it.

Infirmities must have been already creeping on him at fifty years of

age, or he would scarcely have felt the need of trying this fountain.

Ponce de Leon equipped three vessels at his own expense, and set out

from St. Germain in Porto Rico on the 1st of March, 1512. He went

first to the Lucayan Islands, which he searched in vain, and then to

the Bahamas. If he did not succeed in finding the fountain of youth

which he sought so credulously, at least he had the satisfaction of

discovering an apparently fertile tract of country, which he named

Florida, either from his landing there on Palm Sunday,

(Paques-Fleuries), or perhaps from its delightful aspect. Such a

discovery would have contented many a traveller, but Ponce de Leon

went from one island to another, tasting the water of every stream

that he met with, without the satisfaction of seeing his white hair

again becoming black or his wrinkles disappearing. After spending

six months in this fruitless search, he was tired of playing the

dupe, so giving up the business he returned to Porto Rico on the 5th

of October, leaving Perez de Ortubia and the pilot Antonio de

Alaminos to continue the search. Pere Charlevoix says, "He was the

object of great ridicule when he returned in much suffering, and

looking older than when he set out."

This voyage, so absurd in its motive but so fertile in its results,

might well be considered to be simply imaginary, were it not vouched

for by historians of such high repute as Peter Martyr, Oviedo,

Herrera, and Garcilasso de la Vega.

Vasco Nunez de Balboa, who was fifteen years younger than Ponce de

Leon, had come to America with Bastidas and had settled in

Hispaniola. He was only anxious for a safe refuge from his numerous

creditors, being, as were so many of his fellow-countrymen, deeply

in debt, in spite of the _repartimiento_ of Indians which had been

allotted to him. Unfortunately for Balboa a law had been passed

forbidding any vessels bound for the mainland taking insolvent

debtors on board, but his ingenuity was equal to this emergency, for

he had himself rolled in an empty barrel to the vessel which was to

carry Encisco to Darien. The chief of the expedition had no choice

but to receive the brave adventurer who had joined him in this

singular manner, and who never fled except from duns, as he soon

proved on landing. The Spaniards, accustomed to find but little

resistance from the natives of the Antilles, could not subjugate the

fierce inhabitants of the mainland. On account of the dissensions

that had arisen among themselves, they were obliged to take refuge

at Santa-Maria el Antigua, a settlement which Balboa, now elected

commandant in place of Encisco, founded in Darien.

If the personal bravery of Balboa, or the ferocity of Leoncillo his

blood-hound--who was more dreaded than twenty armed men and received

the same pay as a soldier,--could have awed the Indians, Balboa

would have also won their respect by his justice and comparative

moderation, for he allowed no unnecessary cruelty. In the course of

some years he collected a great mass of most useful information with

regard to that El Dorado, that land of gold, which he was destined

never to reach himself, but the acquisition of which he did much to

facilitate for his successors.

It was in this way that he learnt the existence six suns away (six

days' journey), of another sea, the Pacific Ocean, which washed the

shores of Peru, a country where gold was found in large quantities.

Balboa's character, which was as grand as those of Cortes and

Pizarro, but who had not, as they, the time or opportunity to show

the extraordinary qualities which he possessed, felt convinced that

this information was most valuable, and that if he could carry out

such a discovery, it would shed great lustre on his name.

He assembled a body of 190 volunteers, all valiant soldiers, and

like himself, accustomed to all the chances of war, as well as

acclimatised to the unhealthy effluvia of a marshy country, where

fever, dysentery, and complaints of the liver were constantly

present.

Though the Isthmus of Darien is only sixty miles in width, it is

divided into two parts by a chain of high mountains; at the foot of

these the alluvial soil is marvellously fertile, and the vegetation

far more luxuriant than any European can imagine. It consists of an

inextricable mass of tropical plants, creepers, and ferns, among

trees of gigantic size which completely hide the sun, a truly virgin

forest, interspersed here and there with patches of stagnant water,

where live multitudes of birds, insects, and animals, never

disturbed by the foot of man. A warm, moist atmosphere exists here

which exhausts the strength and speedily saps the energy of any man,

even the most robust.

With all these obstacles which Nature seemed to have rejoiced in

placing in Balboa's path, there was yet another no less formidable,

and this was the resistance which the savage inhabitants of this

inhospitable shore would offer to his progress. Balboa set out

without caring for the risk he ran in the event of the guides and

native auxiliaries proving faithless; he was escorted by a thousand

Indians as porters, and accompanied by a troop of those terrible

bloodhounds which had acquired the taste for human flesh in

Hispaniola.

Of the tribes that he met with on his route, some fled into the

mountains carrying their provisions with them, and others, taking

advantage of the difficulties the land presented, tried to fight.

Balboa marching in the midst of his men, never sparing himself,

sharing in their privations and rousing their courage, which would

have failed more than once, was able to inspire them with so much

enthusiasm for the object that was before them, that after

twenty-five days of marching and fighting, they could see from the

top of a mountain that vast Pacific Ocean, of which, four days later,

Balboa, his drawn sword in one hand and the banner of Castille in

the other, took possession in the name of the King of Spain. The

part of the Pacific Ocean which he had reached is situated to the

east of Panama, and still bears the name of the Gulf of San Miguel,

given to it by Balboa. The information he obtained from the

neighbouring caciques, whom he subjugated by force of arms, and from

whom he obtained a considerable booty, agreed in every particular

with what he had heard before he set out.

A vast empire lay to the south, they said, "so rich in gold, that

even the commonest instruments were made of it," where the domestic

animals were llamas that had been tamed and trained to carry heavy

burdens, and whose appearance in the native drawings resembled that

of the camel. These interesting details, and the great quantity of

pearls offered to Balboa, confirmed him in his idea, that he must

have reached the Asiatic countries described by Marco Polo, and that

he could not be far from the empire of Cipango or Japan, of which

the Venetian traveller had described the marvellous riches which

were perpetually dazzling the eyes of these avaricious adventurers.

[Illustration: Balboa discovering the Pacific Ocean.]

Balboa several times crossed the Isthmus of Darien, and always in

some fresh direction. Humboldt might well say that this country was

better known in the beginning of the sixteenth century than in his

own day. Beyond this Balboa had launched some vessels built under

his orders on the newly-discovered ocean, and he was preparing a

formidable armament, with which he hoped to conquer Peru, when he

was odiously and judicially murdered by the orders of Pedrarias

Davila, the governor of Darien, who was jealous of the reputation

Balboa had already gained, and of the glory which would doubtless

recompense his bravery if he carried out the expedition which he had

arranged. Thus the conquest of Peru was retarded by at least

twenty-five years, owing to the culpable jealousy of a man whose

name has acquired, by Balboa's assassination, almost as wretched a

celebrity as that of Erostratus.

If we owe to Balboa the first authentic documents regarding Peru,

another explorer was destined to furnish some not less important

touching that vast Mexican Empire, which had extended its sway over

almost the whole of Central America. In 1518, Juan de Grijalva had

been placed in command of a flotilla, consisting of four vessels,

armed by Diego Velasquez, the conqueror of Cuba, which were destined

to collect information upon Yucatan, sighted the year before by

Hernandez de Cordova. Grijalva, accompanied by the pilot Alaminos,

who had made the voyage to Florida with Ponce de Leon, had two

hundred men under his command; amongst the volunteers was Bernal

Diaz del Castillo, the clever author of a very interesting history

of the conquest of Mexico, from which we shall borrow freely.

After thirteen days' sailing, Grijalva reached the Island of Cozumel

on the coast of Yucatan, doubled the Cape of Cotoche, and entered

the Bay of Campeachy. He disembarked on the 10th of May at Potonchan,

of which the inhabitants defended the town and citadel vigorously,

in spite of their astonishment at the vessels, which they took for

some kind of marine monsters, and their fear of the pale-faced men

who hurled thunderbolts. Fifty-seven Spaniards were killed in the

engagement, and many were wounded. This warm reception did not

encourage Grijalva to make any long stay amongst this warlike people.

He set sail again after anchoring for four days, took a westerly

course along the coast of Mexico, and on the 19th of May entered a

river named by the natives the Tabasco, where he soon found himself

surrounded by a fleet of fifty native boats filled with warriors

ready for the conflict, but thanks to Grijalva's prudence and the

amicable demonstrations which he made, peace was not disturbed.

"We made them understand," writes Bernal Diaz, "that we were the

subjects of a powerful emperor called Don Carlos, and that it would

be greatly to their advantage if they also would acknowledge him as

their master. They replied that they had a sovereign already, and

were at a loss to understand why we, who had only just arrived, and

who knew so little of them, should offer them another king." This

reply was scarcely that of a savage!

In exchange for some worthless European trinkets, the Spaniards

obtained some Yucca bread, copal gum, pieces of gold worked into the

shape of fishes or birds, and garments made of cotton, which had

been woven in the country. As the natives who had been taken on

board at Cape Cotoche did not perfectly understand the language

spoken by the inhabitants of Tabasco, the stay here was but of short

duration, and the ships again put to sea. They passed the mouth of

the Rio Guatzacoalco, the snowy peaks of the San Martin mountains

being seen in the distance, and they anchored at the mouth of a

river which was called _Rio de las Banderas_, from the number of

white banners displayed by the natives to show their friendly

feeling towards the new comers.

When Grijalva landed, he was received with the same honour as the

Indians paid to their gods; they burnt copal incense before him, and

laid at his feet more than 1500 piastres' worth of small gold jewels,

as well as green pearls and copper hatchets. After taking formal

possession of the country, the Spaniards landed on an island called

_Los Sacrificios_ Island, from a sort of altar which they found

there placed at the top of several steps, upon which lay the bodies

of five Indians sacrificed since the preceding evening; their bodies

were cut open, their hearts torn out, and both legs and arms cut off.

Leaving this revolting spectacle, they went to another small island,

which received the name of San Juan, being discovered on St. John's

Day; to this they added the word _Culua_, which they heard used by

the natives of these shores. But Culua was the ancient name for

Mexico, and this Island of San-Juan de Culua is now known as St.

John d'Ulloa.

Grijalva put all the gold which he had collected on board one of the

ships and despatched it to Cuba, while he continued his exploration

of the coast, discovered the Sierras of Tusta and Tuspa, and

collected a large amount of useful information regarding this

populous country; on arriving at the _Rio Panuco_, he was attacked

by a flotilla of native vessels, and had much difficulty in

defending himself against their attacks.

This expedition was nearly over, for provisions were running short,

and the vessels were in a very bad state, the volunteers were many

of them sick and wounded, and even had they been in good health

their numbers were too small to make it safe to leave them among

these warlike people, even under the shelter of fortifications.

Besides, the leaders of the expedition no longer acted in concert,

so after repairing the largest of the vessels in the Rio Tonala,

where Bernal Diaz boasts of having sown the first orange-pips which

were ever brought to Mexico, the Spaniards set out for Santiago in

Cuba, where they arrived on the 15th of November, after a cruise of

seven months, not forty-five days, as M. Ferdinand Denis asserts in

the Biographie Didot, and as M. Ed. Charton repeats in his

_Voyageurs Anciens et Modernes_.

The results obtained from this voyage were considerable. For the

first time the long line of coast which forms the peninsula of

Yucatan, the Bay of Campeachy, and the base of the Gulf of Mexico,

had been explored continuously from cape to cape. Not only had it

been proved beyond doubt that Yucatan was not an island as they had

believed, but much and reliable information had been collected with

regard to the existence of the rich and powerful empire of Mexico.

The explorers had been much struck with the marks of a more advanced

civilization than that existing in the Antilles, with the

superiority of the architecture, the skilful cultivation of the land,

the fine texture of the cotton garments, and the delicacy of finish

of the golden ornaments worn by the Indians. All this combined to

increase the thirst for riches among the Spaniards of Cuba, and to

urge them on like modern Argonauts to the conquest of this new

golden fleece. Grijalva was not destined to reap the fruits of his

perilous and at the same time intelligent voyage, which threw so new

a light on Indian civilization. The _sic vos, non vobis_ of the poet

was once again to find an exemplification in this circumstance.

II.

THE CONQUERORS OF CENTRAL AMERICA.

Ferdinand Cortes--His character--His appointment--Preparations for

the expedition, and attempts of Velasquez to stop it--Landing at

Vera-Cruz--Mexico and the Emperor Montezuma--The republic of

Tlascala--March upon Mexico--The Emperor is made prisoner--Narvaez

defeated--The _Noche Triste_--Battle of Otumba--The second siege and

taking of Mexico--Expedition to Honduras--Voyage to Spain--

Expeditions on the Pacific Ocean--Second Voyage of Cortes to Spain--

His death.

Velasquez had not waited for Grijalva's return before sending off to

Spain the rich products of the countries discovered by the latter,

and at the same time soliciting from the council of the Indies, as

well as from the Bishop of Burgos, an addition to his authority,

that he might attempt the conquest of these countries. At the same

time he fitted out a new armament proportioned to the dangers and

importance of the undertaking that he proposed. But though it was

comparatively easy for Velasquez to collect the necessary material

and men, it was far more difficult for him--whom an old writer

describes as niggardly, credulous, and suspicious in disposition--to

choose a fit leader. He wished indeed, to find one who should

combine qualities nearly always incompatible, high courage and great

talent, without which there was no chance of success, with at the

same time sufficient docility and submissiveness, to do nothing

without orders, and to leave to him who incurred no risk, any glory

and success which might attend the enterprise. Some who were brave

and enterprising would not be treated as mere machines; others who

were more docile or more cunning lacked the qualities required to

insure the success of so vast an enterprise; among the former were

some of Grijalva's companions who wished that he should be made

commander, while the latter preferred Augustin Bermudez or

Bernardino Velasquez. While this was pending, the governor's

secretary, Andres de Duero, and Amador de Larez, the Controller of

Cuba, both favourites of Velasquez, made an arrangement with a

Spanish nobleman named Ferdinand Cortes, that if they could obtain

the appointment for him, they should be allowed a share in his gains.

Bernal Diaz says, "They praised Cortes so highly, and pointed him

out in such flattering terms as the very man fitted to fill the

vacant post, adding that he was brave and certainly very faithful to

Velasquez (to whom he was son-in-law), that he allowed himself to be

persuaded, and Cortes was nominated captain-general. As Andres de

Duero was the governor's secretary, he hastened to formulate the

powers in a deed, making them very ample, as Cortes desired, and

brought it to him duly signed." Had Velasquez been gifted with the

power of looking into the future, Cortes was certainly not the man

he would have chosen.

[Illustration: Ferdinand Cortes. _From an old print_.]

Cortes was born at Medellin in Estramadura in 1485, of an ancient,

but slenderly-endowed family; after studying at Salamanca for some

time, he returned to his native town, but the quiet monotonous life

there was little suited to his restless and capricious temper, and

he soon started for America, reckoning upon the protection of his

relation Ovando, the Governor of Hispaniola.

His expectations were fully realized, and he held several honourable

and lucrative posts, without counting that between times he joined

in several expeditions against the natives. If he became in this

manner initiated into the Indian system of tactics, so also,

unfortunately, did he grow familiar with those acts of cruelty which

have too often stained the Castilian name. He accompanied Diego de

Velasquez in his Cuban expedition in 1511, and here he distinguished

himself so highly, that notwithstanding certain disagreements with

his chief, a large grant of land as well as of Indians was made to

him as a recognition of his services.

Cortes amassed the sum of 3000 castellanos in the course of a few

years by his industry and frugality, a large sum for one in his

position, but his chief recommendations in the eyes of Andres de

Duero and Amador de Sares his two patrons, were his activity, his

well-known prudence, his decision of character, and the power of

gaining the confidence of all with whom he was brought into contact.

In addition to all this, he was of imposing stature and appearance,

very athletic, and possessed powers of endurance, remarkable even

among the hardy adventurers who were accustomed to brave all kinds

of hardships.

As soon as Cortes had received his commission, which he did with

every mark of respectful gratitude, he set up a banner at the door

of his house, made of black velvet embroidered in gold, bearing the

device of a red cross in the midst of blue and white flames, and

below, this motto in Latin, "Friends, let us follow the Cross, and

if we have faith, we shall overcome by this sign." He concentrated

the whole force of his powerful mind upon the means to make the

enterprise a success; even his most intimate friends were astonished

at his enthusiasm in preparing for it. He not only gave the whole of

the money which he possessed towards arming the fleet, but he

charged part on his estate, and borrowed considerable sums from his

friends to purchase vessels, provisions, munitions of war, and

horses. In a few days 300 volunteers had enrolled themselves,

attracted by the fame of the general, the daring nature of the

enterprise, and the profit that would probably accrue from it.

Velasquez, always suspicious, and doubtless instigated by some who

were jealous of Cortes, tried to put a stop to the expedition at its

outset. Cortes being warned by his two patrons that Velasquez would

probably try to take the command from him, acted with his customary

decision; he collected his men and, in spite of the vessels not

being completed and of an insufficient armament, he weighed anchor

and sailed during the night. When Velasquez discovered that his

plans had been check-mated he concealed his indignation, but at the

same time, he made every arrangement to stop the man who could thus

throw off all dependence upon him with such consummate coolness.

Cortes anchored at Macaca, to complete his stores, and found many of

those who had accompanied Grijalva now hasten to serve under his

banner: Pedro de Alvarado and his brothers, Christoval de Olid,

Alonzo de Avila, Hernandez de Puerto-Carrero, Gonzalo de Sandoval,

and Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who was to write a valuable account of

these events "_quorum pars magna fuit_." Trinity Harbour, on the

south coast of Cuba was the next resting-place, and here a further

supply of provisions was taken on board, but while Cortes lay at

anchor for this purpose, Verdugo the governor, received letters from

Velasquez, desiring him to arrest the captain-general, the command

of the fleet having been just taken from him. This bold step would

have endangered the safety of the town, so Verdugo refrained from

executing the order. Cortes sailed away to Havana in order to enlist

some new adherents, while his lieutenant Alvarado went over land to

the port where the last preparations were made. Although Velasquez

was unsuccessful in his first attempt, he again sent an order to

arrest Cortes, but Pedro Barba the governor, felt the impossibility

of executing the order in the midst of soldiers who, as Bernal Diaz

says, "would willingly have given their lives to save Cortes."

At length, having recalled the volunteers by beat of drum, and taken

on board all that appeared necessary, Cortes set sail on the 18th

February, 1519, with eleven ships (the largest being of 100 tons),

110 sailors, 553 soldiers,--13 of whom were arquebusiers,--200

Indians from the island, and some women for domestic work. The real

strength of the armament lay in the ten pieces of artillery, the

four falconets provided with an ample supply of ammunition, and the

sixteen horses which had been obtained at great expense. It was with

these almost miserable means, which, however, had given Cortes much

trouble to collect, that he prepared to wage war with a sovereign

whose dominions were of greater extent than those appertaining to

the King of Spain--an enterprise from which he would have turned

back if he had foreseen half its difficulties. But long ago a poet

said, "Fortune smiles on those who dare."

After encountering a very severe storm, the fleet touched at the

island of Cozumel, where they found that the inhabitants had

embraced Christianity, either from fear of the Spaniards, or from

finding the inability of their gods to help them. Just as the fleet

was about to leave the island, Cortes had the good fortune to meet

with a Spaniard named Jeronimo d'Aguilar, who had been kept a

prisoner by the Indians for eight years. During that time he had

learnt the Indian language perfectly; he was as prudent as he was

clever, and when he joined the expedition he was of the greatest use

as an interpreter.

After doubling Cape Catoche, Cortes sailed down the Bay of Campeachy,

passed Potonchan, and entered the Rio Tabasco, hoping to meet with

as friendly a reception there as Grijalva had done, and also to

collect an equally large quantity of gold; but he found a great

change had taken place in the feelings of the natives, and he was

obliged to employ force. In spite of the bravery and numerical

superiority of the Indians, the Spaniards overcame them in several

engagements, thanks to the terror caused by the reports of their

fire-arms and the sight of the cavalry, whom the Indians took for

supernatural beings. The Indians lost a large number of men in these

engagements, while among the Spaniards two were killed, and fourteen

men and several horses wounded; the wounds of the latter were

dressed with fat taken from the dead bodies of the Indians. At last

peace was made, and the natives gave Cortes provisions, some cotton

clothing, a small quantity of gold, and twenty female slaves, among

whom was the celebrated Marina, who rendered such signal services to

the Spaniards as an interpreter, and who is mentioned by all the

historians of the conquest of the New World.

[Illustration: Cortes receives provisions, clothing, a little gold,

and twenty female slaves.]

Cortes continued on a westerly course, seeking a suitable place for

landing, but he could find none until he reached St. John d'Ulloa.

The fleet had scarcely cast anchor before a canoe made its way

fearlessly to the admiral's vessel, and here Marina (who was of

Aztec origin) was of the greatest use, in telling Cortes that the

Indians of this part of the country were the subjects of a great

empire, and that their province was one recently added to it by

conquest. Their monarch, named Moctheuzoma, better known under the

name of Montezuma, lived in Tenochtitlan, or Mexico, nearly 210

miles away in the interior. Cortes offered the Indians some presents,

assuring them of his pacific intentions, and then disembarked upon

the torrid and unhealthy shore of Vera-Cruz. Provisions flowed in

immediately, but the day after the landing, Teutile, governor of the

province, and ambassador of Montezuma to the Spaniards, had much

difficulty in answering Cortes when he asked him to conduct him to

his master without delay, knowing as he did all the anxiety and

fears which had haunted the mind of the Emperor since the arrival of

the Spaniards. However, he caused some cotton stuffs, feather cloaks,

and some articles made of gold to be laid at the feet of the general,

a sight which simply excited the cupidity of the Europeans. To give

these poor Indians an adequate idea of his power, Cortes called out

his soldiers, and put them through their drill, he also ordered the

discharge of some pieces of artillery, the noise of which froze the

hearts of the savages with terror. During the whole time of the

interview, some painters had been employed in sketching upon pieces

of white cotton, the ships, the troops, and everything which had

struck their fancy. These drawings very cleverly executed, were to

be sent to Montezuma.

Before beginning the history of the heroic struggles which shortly

commenced, it will be useful to give some details as to that Mexican

empire which, powerful as it appeared, nevertheless contained within

itself numerous elements of decay and dissolution, which fact

explains the cause of its conquest by a mere handful of adventurers.

That part of America which was under the dominion of Montezuma was

called Anahuac and lay between 14 degrees and 20 degrees north

latitude. This region presents great varieties of climate on account

of its difference of altitude; towards the centre, and rather nearer

to the Pacific than to the Atlantic, there is a huge basin at an

elevation of 7500 feet above the sea, and about 200 miles in

circumference, in the hollow of which there were at that time

several lakes; this depression is called the valley of Mexico,

taking its name from the capital of the empire. As may be easily

supposed, we possess very few authentic details about a people whose

written annals were burnt by the ignorant "conquistadores" and by

fanatical monks, who jealously suppressed everything which might

remind the conquered race of their ancient religious and political

traditions.

Arriving from the north in the seventh century the Toltecs had

overspread the plateau of Anahuac. They were an intelligent race of

people, addicted to agriculture and the mechanical arts,

understanding the working in metals, and to whom is due the

construction of the greater part of the sumptuous and gigantic

edifices of which the ruins are found in every direction in New

Spain. After four centuries of power, the Toltecs disappeared from

the country as mysteriously as they had come. A century later they

were replaced by a savage tribe from the north-west, who were soon

followed by more civilized races, speaking apparently the Toltec

language. The most celebrated of these tribes were the Aztecs, and

the Alcolhues or Tezcucans, who assimilated themselves easily with

the tincture of civilization which remained in the country with the

last of the Toltecs. The Aztecs, after a series of migrations and

wars, settled themselves in 1326 in the valley of Mexico, where they

built their capital Tenochtitlan. A treaty of alliance both

offensive and defensive was entered into between the states of

Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlacopan, and was rigorously observed for a

whole century; in consequence of this the Aztec civilization, which

had been at first bounded by the extent of the valley, spread on all

sides, and soon was limited only by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

In a short time these people had reached a higher degree of

civilization than any other tribe in the New World. The rights of

property were recognized in Mexico, commerce flourished there, and

three kinds of coin in circulation provided the ordinary mechanism

of exchange. There was a well-organized police, and a system of

relays which worked with perfect regularity, and enabled the

sovereign to transmit his orders with rapidity from one end of the

empire to the other. The number and beauty of the towns, the great

size of the palaces, temples, and fortresses indicated an advanced

civilization, which presented a singular contrast to the ferocious

manners of the Aztecs. Their polytheistic religion was in the

highest degree barbarous and sanguinary; the priests formed a very

numerous body, and exercised great influence even over political

affairs. Side by side with rites similar to those of Christians,

such as baptism and confession, the religion presented a tissue of

the most absurd and bloody superstitions. The offering up of human

sacrifices, adopted at the beginning of the 14th century, and used

at first very sparingly, had soon become so frequent, that the

number of victims immolated each year, and drawn chiefly from the

conquered nations, amounted to 20,000, while under certain

circumstances the number was much larger. Thus in 1486, at the

inauguration of the temple of Huitzilopchit, 70,000 captives

perished in a single day.

The Government of Mexico was monarchical; at first the imperial

power had been carefully limited, but it had increased with the

various conquests, and had become despotic. The sovereign was always

chosen out of the same family, and his accession was marked by the

offering up of numerous human sacrifices. The Emperor Montezuma

belonged to the sacerdotal caste, and in consequence his power

received some unwonted development. The result of his numerous wars

had been the extension of his frontiers, and the subjugation of

various nations; these latter welcomed the Spaniards with eagerness,

thinking that their dominion must surely be less oppressive and less

cruel than that of the Aztecs.

It is certain that if Montezuma, with the large force which he had

at his disposal, had fallen upon the Spaniards when they were

occupying the hot and unhealthy shore of Vera-Cruz, they would have

been unable, in spite of the superiority of their arms and

discipline, to resist such a shock; they must all have perished, or

been obliged to re-embark, and the fate of the New World would have

been completely changed. But the decision which formed the most

salient point in the character of Cortes, was completely wanting in

that of Montezuma, a prince who never could at any time adopt a

resolute policy.

Fresh ambassadors from the emperor had arrived at the Spanish camp,

bringing to Cortes an order to quit the country, and upon his

refusal all intercourse between the natives and the invaders had

immediately ceased. The situation was becoming critical, and this

Cortes felt. After having overcome some hesitation which had been

shown by the troops, he laid the foundations of Vera-Cruz, a

fortress designed to serve as a basis of operations, and a shelter

in case of a possible re-embarkation. He next organized a kind of

civil government, a _junta_, as it would be called in the present

day, to which he resigned the commission which had been revoked by

Velasquez, and then he made the junta give him one with new

provisions and more extended powers. After this he received the

envoys from the town of Zempoalla, who were come to solicit his

alliance, and his protection against Montezuma, whose dominion they

bore with impatience. Cortes was indeed fortunate in meeting with

such allies so soon after landing, and not wishing to allow so

golden an opportunity to slip, he welcomed the Totonacs kindly, went

with them to their capital, and after having caused a fortress to be

constructed at Quiabislan on the sea-shore, he persuaded his new

friends to refuse the payment of tribute to Montezuma. He took

advantage of his stay at Zempoalla to exhort these people to embrace

Christianity, and he threw down their idols, as he had already done

at Cozumel, to prove to them the powerlessness of their gods.

Meanwhile a plot had been forming in his own camp, and Cortes,

feeling convinced that as long as there remained any way of

returning to Cuba, there would be constant lukewarmness and

discontent among his soldiers, caused all his ships to be run

aground, under the pretext of their being in too shattered a

condition to be of any further use. This was an unheard-of act of

audacity, and one which forced his companions either to conquer or

to die. Having no longer anything to fear from the want of

discipline of his troops, Cortes set out for Zempoalla on the 16th

of August, with five hundred soldiers, fifteen horses, and six field

cannon, and also two hundred Indian porters, who were intended to

perform all menial offices. The little army soon reached the

frontiers of the small republic of Tlascala, of which the fierce

inhabitants, impatient of servitude, had long been engaged in strife

with Montezuma. Cortes flattered himself that his oft-proclaimed

intention of delivering the Indians from the Mexican yoke would

induce the Tlascalans to become his allies and at once to make

common cause with him. He therefore asked for leave to cross their

territory on his way to Mexico; but his ambassadors were detained,

and as he advanced into the interior of the country, he was harassed

for fourteen consecutive days and nights by continual attacks from

several bodies of Tlascalans, amounting in all to 30,000 men, who

displayed a bravery and determination such as the Spaniards had

never yet seen equalled in the New World. But the arms possessed by

these brave men were very primitive. What could they effect with

only arrows and lances tipped with obsidian or fish-bones, stakes

hardened in the fire, wooden swords, and above all with an inferior

system of tactics? When they found that each encounter cost them the

lives of many of their bravest warriors, while not a single Spaniard

had been killed, they imagined that these strangers must be of a

superior order of beings, while they could not tell what opinion to

form of men who sent back to them the spies taken in their camp,

with their hands cut off, and who yet after each victory not only

did not devour their prisoners, as the Aztecs would have done, but

released them, loading them with presents and proposing peace.

Upon this the Tlascalans declared themselves vassals of the Spanish

crown, and swore to assist Cortes in all his expeditions, while he

on his side promised to protect them against their enemies. It was

time that peace should be made, for many of the Spaniards were

wounded or ill, and all were worn out with fatigue, but the entry in

triumph into Tlascala, where they were welcomed as supernatural

beings, quickly made them forget their sufferings.

After twenty days of repose in this town, Cortes resumed his march

towards Mexico, having with him an auxiliary army of six thousand

Tlascalans. He went first to Cholula, a town regarded as sacred by

the Indians, and as the sanctuary and favoured residence of their

deities. Montezuma felt much satisfaction in the advance of the

Spaniards to this town, either from the hope that the gods would

themselves avenge the desecration of their temples, or that he

thought a rising, and massacre of the Spaniards might be more easily

organized in this populous and fanatical town. Cortes had been

warned by the Tlascalans that he must place no trust in the

protestations of friendship and devotion made by the Cholulans.

However, he took up his quarters in the town, considering that he

would lose his prestige if he showed any signs of fear, but upon

being informed by the Tlascalans that the women and children were

being sent away, and by Marina that a considerable body of troops

was massed at the gates of the city, that pitfalls and trenches were

dug in the streets, whilst the roofs of the houses were loaded with

stones and missiles, Cortes anticipated the designs of his enemies,

gave orders to make prisoners of all the principal men of the town,

and then organized a general massacre of the population, thus taken

by surprise and deprived of their leaders. For two whole days the

unhappy Cholulans were subject to all the horrors which could be

invented by the rage of the Spaniards, and the vengeance of their

allies the Tlascalans. A terrible example was made, six thousand

people being put to the sword, temples burned to the ground, and the

town half destroyed, a work of destruction well calculated to strike

terror into the hearts of Montezuma and his subjects.

[Illustration: Lake of Mexico.]

Sixty miles now separated Cortes from the capital, and everywhere as

he passed along he was received as a liberator. There was not a

cacique who had not some cause of complaint against the imperial

despotism, and Cortes felt confirmed in the hope that so divided an

empire would prove an easy prey. As the Spaniards descended from the

mountains of Chalco, they beheld with astonishment the valley of

Mexico, with its enormous lake, deeply sunk and surrounded by large

towns, the capital city built upon piles, and the well-cultivated

fields of this fertile region.

Cortes did not trouble himself about the continued tergiversations

of Montezuma, who could not make up his mind to the last moment

whether he would receive the Spaniards as friends or enemies. The

Spanish general advanced along the causeway which leads to Mexico

across the lake, and was already within a mile of the town, when

some Indians, who, from their magnificent costume were evidently of

high rank, came to greet him and to announce to him the approach of

the emperor. Montezuma soon appeared, borne upon the shoulders of

his favourites in a kind of litter adorned with gold and feathers,

while a magnificent canopy protected him from the rays of the sun.

As he advanced the Indians prostrated themselves before him, with

their heads downwards, as though unworthy even to look at their

monarch. This first interview was cordial, and Montezuma himself

conducted his guests to the abode which he had prepared for them. It

was a vast palace, surrounded by a stone wall, and defended by high

towers. Cortes immediately took measures of defence, and ordered the

cannon to be pointed upon the roads leading to the palace. At the

second interview, magnificent presents were offered both to the

general and soldiers. Montezuma related that according to an old

tradition, the ancestors of the Aztecs had arrived in the country

under the leadership of a man of white complexion, and bearded like

the Spaniards. After laying the foundations of their power, he had

embarked upon the ocean, promising them that one day his descendants

would come to visit them and to reform their laws--and if, as

Montezuma said, he now received the Spaniards rather as fathers than

as foreigners, it was because he felt convinced that in them he

beheld the descendants of his people's ancient chief, and he begged

them to regard themselves as the masters of his country.

The following days were employed in visiting the town, which

appeared to the Spaniards as larger, more populous, and more

beautiful than any city which they had hitherto seen in America. Its

distinguishing peculiarity consisted in the causeways which formed a

means of communication with the land, and which were cut through in

various places to allow a free passage to vessels sailing on the

waters of the lake. Across these openings were thrown bridges which

could be easily destroyed. On the eastern side of the town there was

no causeway and no means of communication with the land except by

canoes. This arrangement of the town of Mexico caused some anxiety

to Cortes, who saw that he might be at any moment blockaded in the

town, without being able to find means of egress. He determined,

therefore, to prevent any seditious attempt by securing the person

of the emperor, and using him as a hostage. The following news which

he had just received furnished him with an excellent pretext:

Qualpopoca, a Mexican general, had attacked the provinces which had

submitted to the Spaniards, and Escalante and seven of his soldiers

had been mortally wounded; besides this, a prisoner had been

beheaded and the head carried from town to town, thus proving that

the invaders could be conquered, and were nothing more than ordinary

mortals.

Cortes profited by these events to accuse the emperor of perfidy. He

declared that although Montezuma appeared friendly to him and to his

soldiers, it was only that he might wait for some favourable

opportunity to treat them in the same manner as Escalante, a

proceeding quite unworthy of a monarch, and very different from the

confidence which Cortes had shown in coming, as he had done, to

visit him. He went on to say that if the suspicions of the Spaniards

were not justified, the emperor could easily exonerate himself by

having Qualpopoca punished, and finally, to prevent the recurrence

of aggressions which could but destroy the existing harmony, and to

prove to the Mexicans that he harboured no ill-design against the

Spaniards, Montezuma could not do otherwise than come to reside

amongst them. It may be easily imagined that the emperor was not

very ready to decide upon this course, but was at last obliged to

give in to the violence and threats of the Spaniards. Upon

announcing his resolution to his subjects, he was made to assure

them several times over that he put himself into the hands of the

Spaniards of his own free will; these words were needed to calm the

Mexicans, who threatened to make an attack upon the foreigners.

The success of Cortes in this bold scheme was quite beyond his

expectations. Qualpopoca, with his son and five of the chief

ringleaders in the revolt, were seized by the Mexicans, and brought

before a Spanish tribunal, which was at the same time judge and

prosecutor; the Indians were condemned and burnt alive. Not content

with having punished men who had committed no crime but that of

executing the orders of their emperor, and of opposing an armed

resistance to the invasion of their country, Cortes imposed a new

humiliation upon Montezuma, in placing fetters upon his feet, under

the pretext that the culprits in their last moments had made

accusations against him. For six months the "Conquistador" exercised

the supreme government in the name of the emperor, now reduced to a

puppet-show of authority. Cortes changed the governors who

displeased him, collected the taxes, presided over all the details

of the administration, and sent Spaniards into the various provinces

of the empire with orders to examine their productions, and to take

particular notice of the mining districts and the processes in use

for collecting gold.

Cortes also turned to account the curiosity evinced by Montezuma to

see European ships, to have rigging and other appurtenances brought

from Vera-Cruz, and to order the construction of two brigantines

destined to ensure his communications with terra-firma by the waters

of the lake.

Emboldened by receiving so many proofs of submission and humility,

Cortes took another step in advance, and required that Montezuma

should declare himself the vassal and tributary of Spain. The act of

fidelity and homage was accompanied, as may be easily imagined, with

presents both rich and numerous, as well as by a heavy tax which was

levied without much difficulty. The opportunity was now taken to

gather together everything in gold and silver, which had been

extorted from the Indians, and to melt them down, except certain

pieces which were kept as they were, on account of the beauty of the

workmanship. The whole did not amount to more than 600,000 pesos, or

100,000_l._ Thus, although the Spaniards had made use of all their

power, and Montezuma had exhausted his treasures to satisfy them,

the whole product amounted to an absurdly small sum, very little in

accordance with the idea which the conquerors had formed of the

riches of the country. After reserving one-fifth of the treasure for

the king, and one-fifth for Cortes and subtracting enough to

reimburse the sums which had been advanced for the expenses of the

expedition, the share of each soldier did not amount to 100 _pesos_,

and they considered that it would have been more worth their while

to have remained in Hispaniola, than to have experienced such

fatigues, encountered such great dangers, and suffered so many

privations, all for the reward of 100 _pesos_! If the promises of

Cortes ended in this beggarly result, and if the partition had been

made with fairness, of which they did not feel certain, they argued

that it was absurd to remain longer in so poor a country, while

under a chief less prodigal in promises, but more generous, they

might go to countries rich in gold and precious stones, where brave

warriors would find an adequate compensation for their toils. So

murmured these greedy adventurers; some accepting what fell to their

share while fuming over its small amount, others disdainfully

refusing it.

Cortes had succeeded in persuading Montezuma to conform to his will

in everything which concerned politics, but it was otherwise in

regard to religion. He could not persuade him to change his creed,

and when Cortes wished to throw down the idols, as he had done at

Zempoalla, a tumult arose which would have become very serious, had

he not immediately abandoned his project. From that time the

Mexicans, who had offered scarcely any resistance to the subjugation

and imprisonment of their monarch, resolved to avenge their outraged

deities, and they prepared a simultaneous rising against the

invaders. It was at this juncture, when the affairs in the interior

seemed to be taking a less favourable turn, that Cortes received

news from Vera-Cruz, that several ships were cruising off the

harbour. At first he thought this must be a fleet sent to his aid by

Charles V., in answer to a letter which he had sent to him on the

16th of July, 1519, by Puerto Carrero and Montejo. But he was soon

undeceived, and learnt that this expedition was organized by Diego

Velasquez, who knew by experience how lightly his lieutenant could

shake off all dependence upon him; he had sent this armament with

the object of deposing Cortes from his command, of making him a

prisoner, and of carrying him off to Cuba, where he would be

speedily placed upon his trial. The fleet thus sent was under the

command of Pamphilo de Narvaez; it consisted of eighteen vessels,

and carried eighty horse-soldiers, and 100 infantry (of whom eighty

were musketeers), 120 cross-bowmen, and twelve cannons.

Narvaez disembarked without opposition, near to the fort of San Juan

d'Ulloa, but upon summoning the Governor of Vera-Cruz, Sandoval, to

give up the town to him, Sandoval seized the men who were charged

with the insolent message, and sent them off to Mexico, where Cortes

at once released them, and then gained from them circumstantial

information as to the forces, and the projects of Narvaez. The

personal danger of Cortes at this moment was great; the troops sent

by Velasquez were more numerous and better furnished with arms and

ammunition than were his own, but his deepest cause of anxiety was

not the possibility of his own condemnation and death, it was the

fear lest all fruit of his efforts might be lost, and the knowledge

of the hurtfulness of these dissensions to his country's cause. The

situation was a critical one, but after mature reflection and the

careful weighing of arguments for and against the course he

meditated, Cortes determined to fight, even at a disadvantage,

rather than to sacrifice his conquests and the interests of Spain.

Before proceeding to this last extremity, he sent his chaplain

Olmedo to Narvaez, but he was very ill-received, and saw all his

proposals for an accommodation disdainfully rejected. Olmedo met

with more success amongst the soldiers, who most of them knew him,

and to whom he distributed a number of chains, gold rings, and other

jewels, which were well calculated to give them a high idea of the

riches of the conqueror. But when Narvaez heard of what was going on,

he determined not to leave his troops any longer exposed to

temptation; he set a price upon the heads of Cortes and his

principal officers, and advanced to the encounter.

Cortes, however, was too skilful to be enticed into giving battle

under unfavourable circumstances. He temporized and succeeded in

tiring out Narvaez and his troops, who retired to Zempoalla. Then

Cortes, having taken his measures with consummate prudence, and the

surprise and terror of a nocturnal attack which he organized

compensating for the inferiority of his troops, he made prisoners of

his enemy and all his soldiers, his own loss amounting to but two

men. The conqueror treated the vanquished well, and gave them the

choice between returning to Cuba, or remaining to share his fortune.

This latter proposal, backed up as it was by gifts and promises,

appeared so seductive to the new arrivals, that Cortes found himself

at the head of 1000 soldiers, the day after he had been in danger of

falling into the hands of Narvaez. This rapid change of fortune was

turned to the greatest advantage by the skilful diplomacy of Cortes,

who hastened to return to Mexico. The troops whom he had left there

under the command of Alvarado, to guard the emperor and the treasure,

were reduced to the last extremity by the natives, who had killed or

wounded a great number of soldiers, and who kept the rest in a state

of close blockade, while threatening them constantly with a general

assault. It must be confessed that the imprudent and criminal

conduct of the Spaniards, and notably the massacre of the most

distinguished citizens of the empire during a fete, had brought

about the rising which they dreaded, and which they had hoped to

prevent. After having been joined by 2000 Tlascalans, Cortes pressed

forward by forced marches towards the capital, where he arrived in

safety, and found that the Indians had not destroyed the bridges

belonging to the causeways and dikes which joined Mexico to the land.

In spite of the arrival of this reinforcement, the situation did not

improve. Each day it was necessary to engage in new combats, and to

make sorties to clear the avenues leading to the palace occupied by

the Spaniards.

Cortes now saw but too plainly the mistake which he had made in

shutting himself up in a town where his position might be stormed at

any moment, and from which it was so difficult to extricate himself.

In this difficulty he had recourse to Montezuma, who, by virtue of

his authority and of the prestige which still clung to him, could

appease the tumult, give the Spaniards some respite, and enable them

to prepare for their retreat. But when the unfortunate emperor, now

become a mere toy in the hands of the Spaniards, appeared upon the

walls decked out with regal ornaments, and implored his subjects to

cease from hostilities, murmurs of discontent arose, and threats

were freely uttered. Hostilities began afresh, and before the

soldiers had time to protect him with their shields, Montezuma was

pierced with arrows, and hit upon the head by a stone which knocked

him down. At this sight the Indians, horrified at the crime which

they had just committed, at once ceased fighting, and fled in all

directions, while the emperor, understanding but too late all the

baseness of the part which Cortes had forced him to play, tore off

the bandages which had been applied to his wounds, and refusing all

nourishment, he died cursing the Spaniards.

[Illustration: Death of Montezuma.]

After so fatal an event, there was no more room to hope for peace

with the Mexicans, and it became necessary to retire in haste, and

at whatever cost, from a town in which the Spaniards were threatened

with blockade and starvation. For this retreat Cortes was preparing

in secret. He saw his troops each day more and more closely hemmed

in, whilst several times he was forced himself to take his sword in

his hand and to fight like a common soldier. Solis even relates, but

upon what authority is not known, that during an assault which was

made upon one of the edifices commanding the Spanish quarter, two

young Mexicans, recognizing Cortes, who was cheering on his soldiers,

resolved to sacrifice themselves in the hope of killing the man who

had been the author of their country's calamities. They approached

him in a suppliant attitude, as though they would ask for quarter,

then seizing him round the waist they dragged him towards the

battlements, over which they threw themselves, hoping to drag him

over with them. But thanks to his exceptional strength and agility

Cortes managed to escape from their embrace, and these two brave

Mexicans perished in their generous but vain attempt to save their

country.

The retreat being determined upon, it was necessary to decide upon

whether it should be carried out by night or by day. If in the

daytime the enemy would be more easily resisted, any ambuscades

which might be prepared would be more easily avoided, while they

could better take precautions to repair any bridges broken by the

Mexicans. On the other hand, it was known that the Indians will

seldom attack an enemy after sunset, but what really decided Cortes

in favour of a nocturnal retreat was, that a soldier who dabbled in

astrology had declared to his comrades that success was certain if

they acted in the night.

They therefore began their march at midnight. Besides the Spanish

troops, Cortes had under his orders detachments from Tlascala,

Zempoalla, and Cholula, which, notwithstanding the serious losses

which had been sustained, still numbered 7000 men. Sandoval

commanded the vanguard, and Cortes the centre, where were the cannon,

baggage, and prisoners, amongst whom were a son and two daughters of

Montezuma; Alvarado and Velasquez de Leon led the rearguard. With

the army was carried a flying bridge, which had been constructed to

throw over any gaps there might be in the causeway. Scarcely had the

Spaniards debouched upon the dike leading to Tacuba, which was the

shortest of all, when they were attacked in front, flank, and rear

by solid masses of the enemy, whilst from a fleet of numberless

canoes, a perfect hailstorm of stones and missiles fell upon them.

Blinded and amazed, the allies knew not against whom to defend

themselves first. The wooden bridge sank under the weight of the

artillery and fighting men. Crowded together upon a narrow causeway

where they could not use their fire-arms, deprived of their cavalry

who had not room to act, mingled with the Indians in a hand-to-hand

combat, not having strength to kill, and surrounded on all sides,

the Spaniards and their allies gave way under the ever renewed

numbers of the assailants. Officers and soldiers, infantry and

cavalry, Spaniards and Tlascalans were confounded together, each

defended himself to the best of his ability, without caring about

discipline or the common safety.

All seemed lost, when Cortes with one hundred men succeeded in

crossing the breach in the dike upon the mass of corpses which

filled it up. He drew up his soldiers in order as they arrived, and

putting himself at the head of those least severely wounded, plunged

wedge-fashion into the melee, and succeeded in disengaging from it a

portion of his men. Before day dawned all those who had succeeded in

escaping from the massacre of the _noche triste_, as this terrible

night was called, found themselves reunited at Tacuba. It was with

eyes full of tears that Cortes passed in review his remaining

soldiers, all covered with wounds, and took account of the losses

which he had sustained; 4000 Indians, Tlascalans, and Cholulans, and

nearly all the horses were killed, all the artillery and ammunition,

as well as the greatest part of the baggage, were lost, and amongst

the dead were several officers of distinction--Velasquez de Leon,

Salcedo, Morla, Lares, and many others; one of those most

dangerously hurt was Alvarado, but not one man, whether officer or

soldier, was without a wound.

The fugitives did not delay at Tacuba, and by accident they took the

road to Tlascala, where they did not know what reception might await

them. Ever harassed by the Mexicans, the Spaniards were again

obliged to give battle upon the plains of Otumba to a number of

warriors, whom some historians reckon at two hundred thousand.

Thanks to the presence of some cavalry soldiers who still remained

to him, Cortes was able to overthrow all who were in front of him,

and to reach a troop of persons whose high rank was easily discerned

by their gilded plumes and luxurious costumes, amongst whom was the

general bearing the standard. Accompanied by some horsemen, Cortes

threw himself upon this group and was fortunate enough, or skilful

enough, to overturn by a lance-thrust the Mexican general, who was

then despatched by the sword by a soldier named Juan de Salamanca.

From the moment when the standard disappeared the battle was gained,

and the Mexicans, panic-stricken, fled hastily from the field of

battle. "Never had the Spaniards incurred greater danger," says

Prescott, "and had it not been for the lucky star of Cortes, not one

would have survived to transmit to posterity the history of the

sanguinary battle of Otumba." The booty was considerable, and

sufficed in part, to indemnify the Spaniards for the loss they had

sustained in leaving Mexico, for this army which they had just

defeated was composed of the principal warriors of the nation, who,

having been quite confident of success, had adorned themselves with

their richest ornaments.

[Illustration: Cortes at the Battle of Otumba.]

The day after the battle the Spaniards entered the territory of

Tlascala. Bernal Diaz says, "I shall now call the attention of

curious readers to the fact that when we returned to Mexico to the

relief of Alvarado, we were in all 1300 men, including in that

number ninety-seven horsemen, eighty cross-bowmen, and the same

number armed with carbines; besides, we had more than 2000

Tlascalans, and much artillery. Our second entry into Mexico took

place on St. John's Day, 1520; our flight from the city was on the

10th day of the month of July following, and we fought the memorable

battle of Otumba on the 14th day of this same month of July. And now

I would draw attention to the number of men who were killed at

Mexico during the passage of the causeways and bridges, in the

battle of Otumba, and in the other encounters upon the route. I

declare that in the space of five days 860 of our men were massacred,

including ten of our soldiers and five Castilian women, who were

killed in the village of Rustepeque; we lost besides 1200 Tlascalans

during the same time. It is to be noticed also that if the number of

dead in the troop of Narvaez were greater than in the troop of

Cortes, it was because the former soldiers set out on the march

laden with a quantity of gold, the weight of which hindered them

from swimming, and from getting out of the trenches."

The troops with Cortes were reduced to four hundred and forty men,

with twenty horses, twelve cross-bowmen, and seven carabineers; they

had not a single charge of gunpowder, they were all wounded, lame,

or maimed in the arms. It was the same number of men that had

followed Cortes when he first entered Mexico, but how great a

difference was there between that conquering troop, and the

vanquished soldiers who now quitted the capital.

As they entered the Tlascalan territory Cortes recommended his men,

and especially those of Narvaez, not to do anything which could vex

the natives, the common safety depending upon not irritating the

only allies which remained to them. Happily the fears which had

arisen as to the fidelity of the Tlascalans proved groundless. They

gave the Spaniards a most sympathizing welcome, and their thoughts

seemed to be wholly bent upon avenging the death of their brothers

massacred by the Mexicans. While in their capital Cortes heard of

the loss of two more detachments, but these reverses, grave as they

were, did not discourage him; he had under his orders troops inured

to war and faithful allies, Vera-Cruz was intact, he might once more

reckon upon his good fortune. But before undertaking a new campaign

or entering upon another siege, help must be sought and preparations

made, and with these objects in view the general set to work. He

sent four ships to Hispaniola to enrol volunteers and purchase

powder and ammunition, and meanwhile he caused trees to be cut down

in the mountains of Tlascala, and with the wood thus obtained twelve

brigantines were constructed, which were to be carried in pieces to

the Lake of Mexico, to be launched there at the moment when needed.

After suppressing some attempts at mutiny amongst the soldiers, in

which those who had come with Narvaez were the most to blame, Cortes

again marched forwards, and, with the help of the Tlascalans, first

attacked the people of Tepeaca and of other neighbouring provinces,

a measure which had the advantage of exercising anew his own troops

in war, and of training his allies. While this was going on, two

brigantines bringing ammunition and reinforcements fell into the

hands of Cortes; these ships had been sent to Narvaez by Velasquez,

in ignorance of his misadventures; at this time also some Spaniards

sent by Francis de Garay, governor of Jamaica, joined the army. In

consequence of these reinforcements the troops with Cortes, after he

had rid himself of several partisans of Narvaez with whom he was

dissatisfied, amounted to five hundred infantry, of whom eighty

carried muskets, and forty horse-soldiers. With this small army, and

with one thousand Tlascalans, Cortes set out once more for Mexico on

the 28th of December, 1520, six months after he had been forced to

abandon the city. This campaign had for its theatre countries

already described, and must therefore be passed over somewhat

rapidly here, notwithstanding the interest attaching to it; to enter

fully into the history of the conquest of Mexico would not be in

accordance with the primary object of this work.

After the death of Montezuma his brother Quetlavaca was raised to

the throne, and he adopted all the measures of precaution compatible

with Aztec strategic science. But he died of the smallpox, the sad

gift of the Spaniards to the New World, at the very moment when his

brilliant qualities of foresight and bravery were the most needed by

his country. His successor was Guatimozin, the nephew of Montezuma,

a man distinguished by his talents and courage.

Cortes had no sooner entered the Mexican territory than fighting

began. He speedily captured the town of Tezcuco, which was situated

at twenty miles' distance, upon the edge of the great central lake,

that lake upon whose waters the Spaniards were to see an imposing

flotilla floating three months later. At this time a fresh

conspiracy, which had for its object the assassination of Cortes and

his principal officers, was discovered, and the chief culprit

executed. At this moment fate seemed in every way to smile upon

Cortes; he had just received the news of the arrival of fresh

reinforcements at Vera-Cruz, and the greater part of the towns under

the dominion of Guatimozin had submitted to the force of his arms.

The actual siege of Mexico began in the month of May, 1521, and

continued with alternate success and reverse until the day when the

brigantines were launched upon the water of the lake. The Mexicans

did not hesitate to attack them; from four to five thousand canoes,

each bearing two men, covered the lake and advanced to the assault

of the Spanish vessels, which carried in all nearly three hundred

men. These nine brigantines were provided with cannon, and soon

dispersed or sunk the enemy's fleet, who thenceforth left them in

undisputed possession of the water. But this success and certain

other advantages gained by Cortes had no very marked consequences,

and the siege dragged slowly on, until the general made up his mind

to capture the town by force. Unfortunately the officer who was

charged with protecting the line of retreat by the causeways while

the Spaniards were making their way into the town, abandoned his

post, thinking it unworthy of his valour, and went to join in the

combat. Guatimozin was informed of the fault which had been

committed, and at once took advantage of it. His troops attacked the

Spaniards on all sides with such fury that numbers of them were

killed in a short time, while sixty-two of the soldiers fell alive

into the hands of the Mexicans, a fate which Cortes, who was

severely wounded in the thigh, narrowly escaped sharing. During the

night following, the great temple of the war-god was illuminated in

sign of triumph, and the Spaniards listened in profound sadness to

the beating of the great drum. From the position they occupied they

could witness the end of the prisoners, their unfortunate countrymen,

whose breasts were opened and their hearts torn out, and whose dead

bodies were hurled down the steps; they were then torn in pieces by

the Aztecs, who quarrelled over the pieces with the object of using

them for a horrible festival.

This terrible defeat caused the siege to go on slowly, until the day

came when three parts of the city having been taken or destroyed,

Guatimozin was obliged by his councillors to quit Mexico and to set

out for the mainland, where he reckoned upon organizing his

resistance, but the boat which carried him being seized he was made

prisoner. In his captivity he was destined to display much greater

dignity and strength of character than his uncle Montezuma had done.

From this time all resistance ceased, and Cortes might take

possession of the half-destroyed capital. After a heroic resistance,

in which 120,000 Mexicans according to some accounts, but 240,000

according to others, had perished, after a siege which had lasted

not less than seventy days, Mexico, and with the city all the rest

of the empire, succumbed, less indeed to the blows dealt against it

by the Spaniards than to the long-standing hatred and the revolts of

the subjugated people, and to the jealousy of the neighbouring

states, fated soon to regret the yoke which they had so deliberately

shaken off.

Contempt and rage soon succeeded amongst the Spaniards to the

intoxication of success; the immense riches upon which they had

reckoned either had no existence, or they had been thrown into the

lake. Cortes found it impossible to calm the malcontents, and was

obliged to allow the emperor and his principal minister to be put to

the torture. Some historians, and notably Gomara, report that whilst

the Spaniards were stirring the fire which burnt below the gridiron

upon which the two victims were extended, the minister turned his

head towards his master and apparently begged him to speak, in order

to put an end to their tortures; but that Guatimozin reproved this

single moment of weakness by these words, "And I, am I assisting at

some pleasure, or am I in the bath?" an answer which has been

poetically changed into, "And I, do I lie upon roses?"

[Illustration: The Spaniards stir the fire burning below the

gridiron.]

The historians of the conquest of Mexico have usually stopped short

at the taking of Mexico, but it remains for us to speak of some

other expeditions undertaken by Cortes with different aims, but

which resulted in casting quite a new light upon some portions of

Central America; besides we could not leave this hero, who played so

large a part in the history of the New World and in the development

of its civilization, without giving some details of the end of his

life.

With the fall of the capital was involved, properly speaking, that

of the Mexican empire; if there were still some resistance, as

notably there was in the province of Oaxaca, it was of an isolated

character, and a few detachments of troops sufficed to reduce to

submission the last remaining opponents of the Spaniards, terrified

as the Mexicans were by the punishments which had been dealt out to

the people of Panuco, who had revolted. At the same time ambassadors

were sent by the people of the distant countries of the empire, to

convince themselves of the reality of that wonderful event, the

taking of Mexico, to behold the ruins of the abhorred town, and to

tender their submission to the conquerors.

Cortes was at length confirmed in the position he held after

incidents which would take too long to relate, and which caused him

to say, "It has been harder for me to fight against my countrymen

than against the Aztecs." It now remained to him to organize the

conquered country, and he began by establishing the seat of

government at Mexico, which he rebuilt. He attracted Spaniards to

the city by granting them concessions of lands, and the Indians, by

allowing them at first to remain under the authority of their native

chiefs, although he speedily reduced them all, except the Tlascalans,

to the condition of slaves, by the vicious system of _repartimientos_,

in vogue in the Spanish colonies. But if it is justifiable to reproach

Cortes with having held cheaply the political rights of the Indians,

it must be conceded that he manifested the most laudable solicitude

for their spiritual well-being. To further this object he brought over

some Franciscans, who by their zeal and charity in a short time gained

the veneration of the natives, and in a space of twenty years brought

about the conversion of the whole population.

At the same time Cortes sent some troops into the state of Mechoacan,

who penetrated as far as the Pacific Ocean, and as they returned

visited some of the rich provinces situated in the north. Cortes

founded settlements in all the parts of the country which appeared

to him advantageous: at Zacatula upon the shores of the Pacific, at

Coliman in Mechoacan, at Santesteban near Tampico, at Medellin near

Vera-Cruz, &c.

Immediately after the pacification of the country, Cortes entrusted

Christoval de Olid with the command of a considerable force, in

order to establish a colony in Honduras, and at the same time Olid

was to explore the southern coast of that province, and to seek for

a strait which should form a communication between the Atlantic and

Pacific Oceans. But, carried away by the pride of command, Olid had

no sooner reached his destination than he declared himself

independent, whereupon Cortes immediately despatched one of his

relations to arrest the culprit, and set out himself, accompanied by

Guatimozin, at the head of one hundred horsemen and fifty

foot-soldiers, on the 12th of October, 1524. After crossing the

provinces of Goatzacoalco, Tabasco, and Yucatan, and enduring all

kinds of privations in the course of a most trying march over marshy

and shifting ground, and across a perfect ocean of undulating

forests, the detachment was approaching the province of Aculan, when

Cortes was told of the existence of a plot, formed, as was said, by

Guatimozin and the principal Indian chiefs. Its aim was to seize the

first opportunity to massacre both officers and soldiers, after

which the march to Honduras was to be continued, the settlements

were to be destroyed, and then there was to be a return to Mexico,

where during a general rising there would doubtless be small

difficulty experienced in getting rid of the invaders. Guatimozin in

vain protested his innocence, in which there is every reason to

believe; he was hung, as well as several of the Aztec nobles, upon

the branches of a _Ceyba_ tree, which shaded the road. Bernal Diaz

del Castillo says, "The execution of Guatimozin was very unjust, and

we were all agreed in condemning it." But Prescott says, "If Cortes

had consulted but his own interest and his renown, he should have

spared him, for he was the living trophy of his victory, as a man

keeps gold in the lining of his coat."

At length the Spaniards reached Aculan, a flourishing town, where

they refreshed themselves after their journey in excellent quarters;

when they set out again, it was in the direction of the Lake of

Peten, a part of the country where the population was easily

converted to Christianity. We shall not dwell upon the sufferings

and misery which tried the expedition in these sparsely-peopled

countries, until it arrived at San Gil de Buena-Vista, upon the

Golfo Dolce, where Cortes, after receiving the news of the execution

of Olid and the re-establishment of the central authority, embarked

upon his return to Mexico. At this time he entrusted to Alvarado the

command of three hundred infantry, one hundred and sixty cavalry,

and four cannon, with a body of Indian auxiliaries, with which he

set out for the south of Mexico, to conquer Guatemala. He reduced to

submission the provinces of Zacatulan, Tehuantepec, Soconusco,

Utlatlan, and laid the foundations of the town of Guatemala la

Vieja; when, some time afterwards he made a voyage to Spain, he was

named by Charles V. governor of the countries which he had conquered.

Three years had not expired after the conquest, before a territory

1200 miles in length upon the sea-board of the Atlantic, and 1500

miles upon that of the Pacific, had submitted to the Castilian crown,

and with but few exceptions, was in a state of perfect tranquillity.

The return of Cortes to Mexico from the useless expedition to

Honduras--which had wasted so much time and caused almost as great

sufferings to the Spaniards as the conquest of Mexico--had taken

place but a few days, when he received the news that he was

temporarily replaced by another commander, and was invited to repair

to Spain to exculpate himself from certain charges. He was not in

any haste to comply with this order, hoping that it might be revoked,

but his indefatigable calumniators and his implacable enemies, both

in Spain and Mexico, preferred accusations against him after such a

manner, that he found himself obliged to go and make his defence, to

state his wrongs, and boldly to claim the approval of his conduct.

Cortes therefore started accompanied by his friend Sandoval, as well

as by Tapia und several Aztec chiefs, amongst whom was a son of

Montezuma. He disembarked at Palos, in May, 1528, at the same place

where Columbus had landed thirty-five years before, and he was

welcomed with the same enthusiasm and rejoicings as the discoverer

of America had been; here Cortes met with Pizarro, then at the

outset of his career, who was come to solicit the support of the

Spanish government. Cortes afterwards set out for Toledo, where the

court then was. The mere announcement of his return had produced a

complete change in public opinion. His unexpected arrival at once

contradicted the idea that he harboured any projects of revolt and

independence. Charles V. saw that public feeling would be outraged

at the thought of punishing a man who had added its greatest gem to

the crown of Castille, and so the journey of Cortes became one

continual triumph in the midst of crowds of people greater than had

been ever known before. "The houses and streets of the large towns

and of the villages," says Prescott, "were filled with spectators

impatient to contemplate the hero whose single arm might be said, in

some sort, to have conquered an empire for Spain, and who, to borrow

the language of an old historian, marched in all the pomp and glory,

not of a great vassal, but of an independent monarch."

Charles V., after having granted several audiences to Cortes, and

bestowed upon him those particular marks of favour which are termed

important by courtiers, deigned to accept from him the empire which

he had conquered for him, and the magnificent presents which he

brought. But he considered that he had fully recompensed him when he

had given Cortes the title of Marquis della Valle de Oajaca, and the

post of captain-general of New Spain, without, however, restoring to

him the civil government, a power which had been formerly delegated

to him by the junta of Vera-Cruz. Cortes, after his marriage with

the niece of the Duke de Bejar, who belonged to one of the first

families in Spain, accompanied the emperor, who was on his way to

Italy, to the port of embarkation; but the general, soon becoming

tired of the frivolities of a court, so little in accordance with

the active habits of his past life, set out again for Mexico in 1530,

and landed at Villa-Rica. After his arrival he underwent some

annoyance caused by the Audienza, which had exercised the power in

his absence, and which had instituted law-suits against him, and he

also found himself in conflict with the new civil junta on the

subject of military affairs. The Marquis della Valle withdrew

himself to Cuernavaca, where he had immense estates, and busied

himself with agriculture. He was the means of introducing the

sugar-cane and the mulberry into Mexico, he also encouraged the

cultivation of hemp and flax, and the breeding, on a large scale, of

merino sheep.

But this peaceable life without adventures could not long satisfy

the enterprising spirit of Cortes. In 1532 and 1533, he equipped two

squadrons destined to make voyages of discovery in the north-west of

the Pacific. The latter expedition reached the southern extremity of

the peninsula of California without attaining the object sought,

namely the discovery of a strait uniting the Pacific with the

Atlantic. Cortes himself met with no better success in 1536 in the

Vermilion Sea (Gulf of California). Three years later a concluding

expedition, of which Cortes gave the command to Ulloa, penetrated to

the farthest extremity of the gulf, and then, sailing along the

exterior side of the peninsula, reached the 29 degrees of north

latitude. From thence the chief of the expedition sent back one of

his ships to Cortes, while the rest proceeded northwards, but from

that time nothing more is heard of them. Such was the unhappy result

of the expeditions of Cortes, which, while they did not bring him in

a single ducat, cost him not less than 300,000 gold castellanos. But

they at least had the result of making known the coast of the

Pacific Ocean, from the Bay of Panama as far as Colorado. The tour

of the Californian Peninsula was made, and it was thus discovered

that what had been imagined to be an island, was in reality a part

of the continent. The whole of the Vermilion Sea, or Sea of Cortes,

as the Spaniards justly named it, was carefully explored, and it was

ascertained that, instead of having an outlet as was supposed to the

north, it was in reality only a gulf deeply hollowed into the

continent.

Cortes had not been able to fit out these expeditions without coming

into antagonism with the viceroy Don Antonio de Mendoza, whom the

emperor had sent to Mexico, an appointment which had wounded the

feelings of the Marquis della Valle. Wearied with these continual,

annoyances, and indignant at finding his prerogative as

captain-general, if not absolutely ignored, at least perpetually

questioned, Cortes left Mexico, and once more set out for Spain. But

this journey was not destined at all to resemble the first. Grown

old, disgusted with life, and betrayed by fortune, the

"conquistador" had no longer anything to expect from government. He

had not to wait long before receiving proof of this; one day he

pressed through the crowd which surrounded the emperor's coach, and

mounted upon the step of the door. Charles V. pretended not to

recognize him, and asked who this man was. Cortes answered proudly,

"It is the man who has given you more States than your father left

you Towns." By this time public interest was diverted from Mexico,

which had not yielded as much as had been expected from it, and was

centred upon the marvellous riches of Peru. Cortes was, however,

received with honour by the supreme council of the Indies, and

permitted to state his complaints before it, but the debates upon

the subject were endlessly drawn out, and he could obtain no redress.

In 1541, during the disastrous expedition of Charles V. against

Algiers, Cortes, who was serving in it as a volunteer, but whose

counsels had not been listened to, had the misfortune to lose three

great carved emeralds, jewels which would have sufficed for the

ransom of an empire. Upon his return he renewed his solicitations,

but with the same want of success. His grief over this injustice and

these repeated disappointments was so deep, that his health suffered

severely; he died far from the scene of his exploits, on the 10th of

November, 1547, at Castilleja de la Cuesta, at the very moment when

he was making preparations to return to America.

"He was a true knight errant," says Prescott; "of all that glorious

troop of adventurers which the Spain of the sixteenth century sent

forth to a career of discovery and conquest, there was not one more

deeply imbued with the spirit of romantic enterprise than Fernando

Cortes. Strife was his delight, and he loved to attempt an

enterprise by its most difficult side."...

This passion for the romantic might have reduced the conqueror of

Mexico to the part of a common adventurer, but Cortes was certainly

a profound politician and a great captain, if one is justified in

giving this name to a man who accomplished great actions by his own

unassisted genius. There is no other example in history of so great

an enterprise having been carried to a successful end with such

inadequate means. It may be said with truth that Cortes conquered

Mexico with his own resources alone. His influence over the minds of

his soldiers was the natural result of their confidence in his

ability, but it must be attributed also to his popular manners,

which rendered him eminently fit to lead a band of adventurers. When

he had attained to a higher rank, if Cortes displayed more of pomp,

his veterans at least continued on the same terms of intimacy with

him as before. In finishing this portrait of the "conquistador," we

shall quote the upright and veracious Bernal Diaz, with whose

sentiments we fully agree. "He preferred his name of Cortes to all

the titles by which he might be addressed, and he had good reasons

for it, for the name of Cortes is as famous in our days as that of

Cesar amongst the Romans, or Hannibal amongst the Carthaginians."

The old chronicler ends by a touch which vividly depicts the

religious spirit of the sixteenth century: "Perhaps he was destined

to receive his reward only in a better world, and I fully believe it

to be so; for he was an honest knight, very sincere in his devotions

to the Virgin, to the Apostle St. Peter, and to all the saints."

III.

THE CONQUERORS OF CENTRAL AMERICA.

The triple alliance--Francisco Pizarro and his brothers--Don Diego

d'Almagro--First attempts--Peru, its extent, people, and kings--

Capture of Atahualpa, his ransom and death--Pedro d'Alvarado--

Almagro in Chili--Strife among the conquerors--Trial and execution

of Almagro--Expeditions of Gonzalo Pizarro and Orellana--

Assassination of Francisco Pizarro--Rebellion and execution of his

brother Gonzalo.

The information which had been gained by Balboa as to the riches of

the countries situated to the south of Panama had scarcely become

known to the Spaniards before several expeditions were organized to

attempt the conquest of them. But all had failed, either from the

means used being insufficient, or from the commanders not being

equal to the greatness of the undertaking. It must be confessed also

that the localities explored by these first adventurers--these

pioneers, as they would be called now-a-days--did not at all come up

to what Spanish greed had expected from them, and for this reason,

that all the attempts had been hitherto made upon what was then

called "Terra Firma," a country pre-eminently unhealthy, mountainous,

marshy, and covered with forests; the inhabitants were few, but of

so warlike a disposition that they had added another obstacle to all

those which nature had strewn with so prodigal a hand in the path of

the invaders. Little by little, therefore, the enthusiasm had cooled,

and the wonderful narratives of Balboa were mentioned only to be

turned into ridicule.

[Illustration: Francisco Pizarro. _From an old print_.]